Duke 73, Michigan State 67

College

December 3, 1998

DUKE HAD a great start, Trajan Langdon had a perfect first half and the fourth-ranked Blue Devils (6-1) had enough to hold off a comeback by the No.9 Spartans (4-2) for a victory at the Great Eight in Chicago on Wednesday night.

Duke had lost the No.1 ranking it held since the preseason poll when it fell to No.6 Cincinnati, 77-75, in the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout on Saturday night.

Langdon finished with 23 points, while William Avery had 14 and Chris Carrawell and Elton Brand added 12 each for Duke. Junior forward Morris Peterson had a career-high in points for the second straight game, finishing with 24, for Michigan State.

NEW MEXICO 97, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 72

THE NO.17 host Lobos (5-0), minus leading scorer Lamont Long (bad back) and his 26-point average, still had plenty of offensive punch to whip the Golden Lions (0-5).

New Mexico, in the midst of a soft December schedule that has drawn criticism from fans and politicians in the state, took a 13-2 lead against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and steadily increased it. Freshman John Robinson III led the Lobos with 25 points and Damion Walker added 23.

UCLA 109, DELAWARE STATE 67

BARON DAVIS, the heart and soul of a very young UCLA team, played his first game in eight months and helped the 18th-ranked Bruins defeat the Hornets (1-4). Davis, who missed UCLA's first four games while rehabilitating from surgery on the left knee he injured in last season's NCAA Tournament, had nine points and four assists in 16 minutes while wearing a heavy knee brace.

CHONSEY ASBURY hit a 3-pointer in a 9-2 stretch run that carried the visiting Bulls (3-0) over the Dukes (3-3). Freshmen Raheim Brown, a Colonial High graduate, and B.B Waldon each had 15 points for USF.

Sheila McMillen scored 23 points and Ruth Riley had 15 points and 17 rebounds as No.6 Notre Dame (6-0) beat Toledo (3-3), 82-64. The victory was the Irish's 15th straight at home, tying the school record that dates back to its Dec. 6, 1997, loss to Connecticut, which visits South Bend on Tuesday. ...

Itoro Umoh had 27 points and 10 assists and No.25 host Clemson (6-0, 1-0 ACC) jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead en route to an 88-67 win over No.17 North Carolina State (3-3, 0-1). ...